A Different Path
by Lissa2
Summary: Bella has spent her life trying to please everyone else. As she starts her freshman year of college will her new freedom help her discover who she truly is and follow a new course…even on to the attractive and smart upperclassman Edward?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Oh how I wish I owned the Twilight characters, alas I do not.

Bella sat hand in hand with Jacob on the sand watching the sun set over the ocean at First Beach. She knew that this moment was the last of its kind for a long time; tomorrow she would move the Southern California to begin her freshman year of college.

She looked over at Jacob and, although she loved him, she couldn't help but feel slightly relieved that she was moving hours away. At that moment he caught her staring and she blushed, but not for the reasons he hoped.

"What are you thinking about Bells?" Jacob asked in a husky voice.

"Oh, nothing. Just nervous about starting college tomorrow. You know, one step closer to joining the real world. " Bella said, hoping that Jacob wouldn't knowing the higher than normal pitch to her voice; the voice she used when she was lying.

Luckily he didn't notice, and pulled her closer in his embrace resting his head on hers. She knew that he was going to miss her after she left, and she was going to miss him too. Bella just wasn't sure that she was going to miss him in the same way.

When Jacob shifted her slightly so he could lean into kiss her, she made herself kiss him back. _He is your boyfriend_, she reminded herself, _he loves you, you love him, and Charlie loves him._ When she thought of Charlie she groaned slightly despite herself, Jacob mistook the sound for a moan and gasped against her lips pushing her down so she was lying on the sand with his body hovering above hers.

She pulled back from him and looked into his eyes, "Jake, we talked about this. I'm moving to California tomorrow and you have two more years of high school left. It's just not a good idea if we sleep together now."

The look in Jacob's eyes belied him, "You're right Bells, but sometimes I can't help it. Besides I'm going to miss you so much when you leave."

Bella knew that if she let him, Jacob would take her right there in the sand, but there was something that was stopping her from letting it happen. As Jacob leaned over her to begin to gently kiss her, his cell phone started ringing from in his pocket.

"Hello?" he said in an annoyed tone, "Dad, it's Bella's last night. Can't I stay out awhile longer?"

Bella strained to hear was Billy, Jacob's father, was saying, and felt slightly giddy when she heard Billy insist that Jacob come home immediately.

When Jacob got off the phone he looked over at Bella with heartbroken eyes, and she felt a small twinge in her heart. He walked back over to where she was sitting and pulled her onto his lap so she was straddling him and urgently kissed her. He held her tightly to his body as he passionately kissed her and like a dying man. She tried to kiss him back with equal passion know that she wouldn't see him until Thanksgiving.

When he pulled away he leaned his forehead against hers and whispered softly to her, "I love you Bells. I'm so sorry I have to go, but my Dad didn't give me another choice. "

"It's ok Jake, I should get home anyways and see if my Dad needs help with any last minute packing. I'm just going to stay here a minute longer, then I'll leave too." Bella whispered back looking into his eyes.

He picked her up off his lap and stood up. Bella noticed that his eyes were glistening in the remaining light on the beach. They stood together on the beach hugging for a few moments before Jacob pulled back and kissed her one last time before jogging over to his car. From the driver's seat she saw him take one last look at her before driving off towards home.

Bella lay back down on the sand looked up at the sky. For once, unlike most nights in Forks, it was a clear night and she could see all the stars. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm her nerves. All she could think about was that she was starting college tomorrow. She was finally getting away from the town in which everyone had known her since she was born. She was escaping her father who, even though he loved her in the best way he knew how, she had worked her entire life to please.

Tomorrow was the start of something new. Tomorrow she would move to a campus that had more students than Forks had residents. Tomorrow Bella Swan, Chief Swan's daughter, would disappear and in her place Bella Swan, university student, would emerge.


	2. Chapter 2

After driving nearly 1400 miles with her father, Bella was finally standing in front of the building that she would be living in for the next nine months. She jumped out of the car and yelled to her dad that she was going to go check in and get her room key.

She walked over to where all the other freshman were standing in line and waited until she got to the front of the line. While she was standing in line she saw a tiny girl jump out of the passenger seat of a U-haul and begin directing two men where to move her boxes. Bella laughed softly to herself at the scene. _I do not envy her roommate one bit. I can't believe how much stuff she's planning on putting in one of these tiny rooms._

Bella finally reached the front of the line and was given her room number and key along with a folder full of information on campus organizations and other orientation activities.

She walked back over to where her father was standing next to her truck and grabbed a couple of boxes and motioned for him to follow her to her room.

When she got to her room she nearly turned on her heel and left when she saw none other than the tiny girl with the U-Haul standing on one side of her dorm room. _Oh no. She's MY roommate. _Bella couldn't believe her bad luck as the girl bounced over to where Bella was standing in the doorway.

"Hi! I'm Alice; are you my roommate?" The girl bounced on the balls of her feet as she grinned up at Bella's face.

"If this is 231, then we're roommates. My name is Bella."

"We're going to have so much fun this year! I took the left side of the room if that's ok, I wasn't sure which side you wanted." Alice said while directing the moving men with her hands while they carried a small refrigerator through the door.

"I'm fine with taking the right side," Bella said as she started to unpack the few boxes she had already brought inside.

She looked up and saw her father bringing more boxes into the room before Alice began speaking to Charlie at the same rapid rate. He looked utterly stunned as she spoke him in her quick rate for a few minutes barely taking a breath or letting him get a word in edge-wise.

"Hey Dad? Why don't we go get my last few boxes so I can get you to the airport; we wouldn't want you to miss your flight." Bella said in an effort to save in from Alice.

He looked relieved at her interruption and nodded before following her out the door and down to Bella's truck.

Once the two of them had brought the last few boxes into her room they made their way back down to the truck to make the journey to the airport.

"Your roommate seems friendly, Bells. I'm sure you two will have a great year together." Charlie said once he closed his door and Bella began driving towards the airport.

"Yeah she does seem nice. I'm just worried she's going to wear me out before the week is over." Bella said, laughing softly along with her father. _At least she talks. Although I'm not sure what would be a worse, a roommate who didn't talk or Alice._ Bella thought as she approached the terminal to let her father off.

"Thanks for driving down with me and helping me move in Dad." She said as Charlie began to exit the car.

"Not a problem. Have fun this year and learn as much as you can. I'm glad you decided on being a business major, after these four years you'll be sure to get a great job." Charlie said as he hugged her goodbye.

"I will Dad. I'll miss you."

As he was walking away, he called to her over his shoulder, "Don't forget to call sometimes. I'm looking forward to hearing about all your classes." Then he walked through the automatic doors into the terminal and left Bella to start a new phase of her life.

As she drove back towards the university, Bella thought about what her father had said as he was leaving to go back home. _He wants me to be a business major because he wants me to have money and a steady job_

She decided to be a business major because it would make him happy. Bella had worked hard all through high school to make the best grades she could, and her father was ecstatic when she had received a full ride to the university in the school of business. Bella knew there was no other way Charlie would have been able to afford sending her to a university otherwise.

"I'll just take some electives in classes that interest me; I'll be able to make it through the business program." Bella said out loud to herself as she approached the university.

She parked her truck and walked back towards her dorm to finish unpacking. _Tomorrow is the first day of classes. Maybe my business classes won't be as back as I think they will be. If they are, I have my literature class tomorrow too. That one will at least be interesting. _

Once she made it back to her room, she saw that Alice had already unpacked all of her things and her side of the room was completely coordinated. Bella looked back over at her own side of the room in its state of complete disarray and wished that the boxes would all magically unpack themselves.

"Bella, do you want any help with your boxes? I'm all done with mine and I have nothing to do." Alice asked from her seat at her desk.

"Sure, that'd be great. Thanks!" Bella smiled as Alice walked over and took a box cutter to the tape on one of the boxes strewn everywhere on Bella's side of the room.

An hour later the two of them had Bella completely unpacked and they lay in the middle of their room next to each other completely exhausted from the day. The two of them had chatted with each other while they unpacked Bella's belongings. The two of them found out that they had a lot in common, and Bella was relieved that she had gotten a great roommate and a possible future best friend.

"At least you don't have near as many things as I do or that would have taken us all night." Alice said from her place next to Bella on the ground.

Bella chuckled and agreed, "Good point. Although I'm still in awe of how you fit everything you brought on your side of the room."

"Speaking of awe" Alice said looking slyly over at Bella, "who is that hunk in the pictures with you?"

"Oh him? That's my boyfriend, Jacob."

"Your boyfriend? I approve. I most definintely approve." Alice said as she beg to sit up, "Hey, I'm hungry. Want to go get pizza or something before we crash?"

"Sure sounds good. Let me grab my wallet." Bella stood up and walked over to her purse to get a few bills out of her wallet.

As she watched Alice collect her belongings before they left their room, Bella found herself hoping that Alice and she would be close friends soon. Her one wish was that she would have a best friend, besides Jacob, to discuss her problems with – especially when one of her main problems was Jacob.

After pizza the two girls returned back to their room and got ready for bed while complaining about the misfortune of being a freshman because you got stuck with the 7:30 am classes.

As Bella lie in bed waiting for sleep to overtake her she thought about what she had to look forward to the next morning. Tomorrow morning she had her first college class, and it was a literature class as well. She was happy that her first class is something that she enjoys; it would be less exciting to wake up for a 7:30 accounting class. _7:30 won't be so bad. It's only a half an hour earlier than high school, and it's far far away form Forks. _

Bella rose the next morning and walked to main campus with Alice. She said goodbye to her roommate at the her classroom and promised to meet up with her for lunch after their first two classes.

She walked through the door into her classroom and took a deep breath to calm herself. There was only a few other students in the small classroom so she picked a seat placed neutrally in the middle of the room halfway back from the front.

The professor had emailed the syllabus the night before to the class and Bella sat reading out the copy she had printed out and didn't notice the class fill up around her.

When she looked up her arm knocked her bag off of her desk, spilling all its contents on the floor. Bella bent down the pick up her things and was straightening when she heard an unfamiliar voice deep voice say, "Here, you lost one of your pens under my desk."

She looked up for the source of the voice and found the most brilliant green eyes looking back at her.


End file.
